Robotic Use in Orthodontics: Literature Review

Abstract

Background: In orthodontic treatment there is always a need to improve efficacy and efficiency of appliances. Improvement of the orthodontic appliances would improve the general dental treatment, thus changing the standards of the oral health. Aims: The aim of this study was to compare the traditional wire bending in fixed orthodontic appliances with the robotic made wire. Also, to check if robot wire bending is superior and has better results than traditional wire bending. Materials and Methods: All articles published from 2010 to present day were included in the study,as the robotic made wire came in use at this time. Databases including MEDLINE via Ovid, Web of science, Embase, Cochrane Library and LILACS were used as the main sources of our data. Results: In this study 7 papers were found to fit our inclusion criteria. It was found that the use of a robot to bend an archwire in the process of making a fixed appliance increases the treatment accuracy, efficacy and efficiency. Also, it decreases the treatment time and patient discomfort thus improving the orthodontic treatment in general. Conclusion: Orthodontic treatments which use a robot or machine to twist archwires utilized in fixed orthodontics apparatus will have a greatly improved forecast with remarkably shorter treatment time in comparison to the traditional approaches.